


Home Is Where The Heart Is

by This_is_not_my_Penname



Series: Advent Ficlets 2018 [20]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Advent Ficlet Challenge 2018, F/M, Home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-23 21:25:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17088017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/This_is_not_my_Penname/pseuds/This_is_not_my_Penname
Summary: For the Advent Ficlet Challenge Day 20: HomeRiza's only ever felt at home with love and warmth.





	Home Is Where The Heart Is

Riza’s mother knew exactly how to make Hawkeye Manor a home. There were garlands throughout the hallways. The tree glowed with light. There was always a fire in the fireplace. Riza loved how Christmas turned the house into more of a home than ever before.

“What do you think? Should I put some mistletoe here?” Her mother asked, holding a little bundle over the doorway to the parlor. Riza nodded from her spot at the foot of the ladder.

“Yeah! If you and father stand under it you’ll hafta kiss!”

“Exactly~,” her mother replied, a grin on her face. “Do you think he’ll fall for it?”

Riza hummed excitedly. “Mama… Can we put more paper chains up tonight?”

“Of course darling. We’ll put them all over the house. And after, you can help me bake for the party tonight.”

“Oh yeah! The party!” Riza bounced. The annual Hawkeye Holiday Party was the whole reason the house was so warm and lively. Riza grinned, her mother smiling back.

Yes, her mother was what made the house a home. Riza didn’t know what she’d do without her.

***

Riza sat on her bed, looking out the window. She had convinced her father to let her get a small tree to leave in her room. She had decorated it with a popcorn chain and a few of the glass baubles she’d found in the attic. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend it was just like her childhood.

She had fond memories of her mother letting her help decorate the tree. Riza could remember hanging the garlands and showing her mother where the mistletoe and other decorations should go. Her mother was the whole life of Hawkeye Manor, and the reason there was any excitement there at all.

She sighed, looking out at her empty backyard. It was a mud puddle after all the rain they’d been having, and her father had made it clear that she wasn’t supposed to do anything that would make a mess of the house. She was supposed to be a perfect daughter, quiet and out of the way. There wasn’t any life in this house anymore, and Riza had given up on trying.

***

“What do you think about throwing a party this year?”

Riza looked up from the book she was reading. Roy was leaning against the doorframe, a grin on his face. “What do you mean, throwing a party?”

“A holiday party. Like you said your mother used to throw. We’ll decorate all fancy, and we’ll invite a couple close friends, you know, the Hughes and maybe the Havocs? Just a fun little dinner and some dancing. Does that sound good to you?”

Riza blinked in surprise. “You… Want to throw a party?”

“Well, only if you’re interested in it, and in helping me decorate?”

She grinned. “I’d love that, Roy. But what brought this on?”

“You’ve seemed a little… sad, the last few days. I thought it’d be something nice. A change of pace. You said you hadn’t hosted a holiday party for years, and I’d enjoy it a lot.”

Riza grinned. It’d be nice to turn their house into a home, the way her mother had done years ago. “Well, if you’d enjoy it, then I think we can do that. It’ll be a lot of hard work,” she replied.

“I know. But I want this place to feel like a home, and I think you do too. So let’s have a party. Let’s decorate. Let’s make it the best party you’ve ever been to. Okay?”

Riza nodded, a smile on her face. Roy was special, someone who held the same joy for life her mother had. It was absolutely magical, the best man she’d ever met.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments below!


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